Stamping apparatus



J1me 1957 E. VANTLANDER I i I 2,796,827

STAMPING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8, 1955 SSheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY June 25, 1957 E. VANTLANDER STAMPING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 8 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 50/444 I/AA/7ZA/VOEE ATTORNEY June 25, 1957 Filed Sept.

E. VANTLANDER STAMPING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Has.

- NV E N TOR I/A/VTLA/VDEIQ BY I ' ATTORNEY EDWARD United States Patent STAMPING APPARATUS Edward Vantlander, Astoria, N. Y., assignor to American Seal-Kap Corporation of Delaware, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Applicafion September 8, 1955, Serial No. 533,216

2 Claims. (Cl. 101-44) This invention relates to stamping apparatus and more particularly to an apparatus for stamping a date or the like upon container tops as filled containers are fed continuously past the stamping station.

An object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the above type having novel and improved characteristics.

A more specific object is to provide an apparatus for stamping a date upon mild bottle caps as the filled and capped bottles are fed past a stamping station.

Various other objects and advantageswill be apparent as the nature of the invention is more fully disclosed.

In accordance with the present invention a stamping head is mounted on a plunger adapted to move downwardly to engage the top of the container in a stamping stroke as the container passes the stamping station. An ink roller engages the type face when the stamping head is in retracted position and is timed to clear the path of the stamping head before the initiation of the stamping stroke. The actuation of the stamping mechanism is controlled by a star wheel positioned in the path of the containers and turned by the containers as they advance.

In accordance with the invention the actuation of thev stamping head is so rapid that the containers are stamped without interrupting their continuous advance.

The, nature of the invention and the various details of.

construction of the parts will be better understood by referring to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which a specific embodiment thereof has been set forth for purposes of illustration.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a portion of a milk bottle filling and capping machine showing a dating head embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 showing the dating head in side elevation;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the details of the dating head;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the dating head and operating mechanism, illustrating a further embodiment of the invention;

'Fig. 6 is a front elevation thereof; and

Figs. 7 and 8 are horizontal sections taken along the lines 7'7 and 8-8 respectively of Fig. 6. i i

In accordance with the present invention the dating mechanism is shown as applied to a milk bottling machine having a traveling conveyor 10 supported on stationary rails 11 and adapted to convey past a stamping or dating station a series of milk bottles 13 to which caps 14 have been applied. The rails 11 are shown as being adjustable for various widths of conveyors. For this purpose the rails 11 are mounted on rods 15 which are slidably mounted in bosses 16 on a split fixed bracket 17 and are adjustableby means of thumb'screws 18.

2,796,827 Patented June 25, 1957 A pair of vertical U-shaped guides are integral with the fixed bracket 17 and carry a slide plate 21 which is adapted to slide vertically therein and which carries the dating head and associated mechanism to be described. For adjusting the slide plate 21 vertically so as to accommodate the dating head to bottles or other containers of different sizes a shaft 22 is provided which is rotatably secured to the slide plate 21 by means of a pinned collar 23 attachedto the shaft 22 and confined between lugs 24 on the slide plate 21 so as to prevent axial movement of the shaft 22 relative to the slide plate. The shaft 22 is provided with a worm thread 25 which engages a lug 26 fixed to one of the U-shaped tracks 20. A handle 27 is provided for turning the shaft 22 for purposes of adjusting the elevaa of screw 36. The cylinder 35 contains a piston 37 connected to a piston rod 38 which projects downwardly from the air cylinder. The piston is normally held ,in upper position by means of a spring 39 and is forced downwardly by means of air pressure which is supplied to the top of the cylinder 35 through a duct 40 whichcommunicates through an air valve 41 to an inlet pipe 42. The valve'41 has a-vent pipe 43 for venting the cylinder 35 when the air supply is cut off.

The air valve 41 is shown as of the solenoid operated type and is normally biased to open position, that is to a position wherein the air under pressure from the inlet pipe 42 is supplied to the duct 40. The valve however may betclosed and the cylinder 35 vented to the atmosphere through the vent pipe 43 when the solenoid is energized.

The air valve mechanism is shown as including an actu-- ating plunger 46 which is normally urged to the right,

as shown in Fig. l, by means of a spring 47, but is pulled to the left by magnetic action when solenoid winding 48 is energized. 3

A bar 50 is attached to the end of the piston rod 38.

A plunger 51 extends slidably through a hole 52 in the bar 50 and is held with a limited amount of lost motion between a collar 53 on the end of the plunger 51 and a shoulder 54 which is formed on the plunger beneath the bar 50. The plunger 51 carries at its lower end a printing head 55 in which the type 56 is removably secured. The plunger 51 slides in a fixed bracket 57 which is integral with the inkwell housing 30. The bracket 57 carand which carry attheir upper ends a cam roller 63 which engages and is actuated by a cam lug 64 carried by the bar 50. A spring 65 also carried by the'bar 50 engagesthe bottom of the cam roller 63 tohold the same in engagement with the cam lug 64. The inking roller is. freely rotatable in the arms 61 and is so mounted as towipe across the bottom face of. the type 56 in ,an inking stroke when the arms61 are'actuated to the position shown in Fig. 3. and to rest beneath the type 56 and against the inking pad 32 when thegarms 61 are in retracted? dotted lines in;

position as shown in Figs; 1 and 2 and in Fig. 3.

;A star wile-c1770, having aplurality of arms 71 which.

are engaged by successive bottles 13 as they are advanced by the conveyor 10, is mounted on'a hollow hub 72 which in turn is journaled for rotation on antifriction bearings on a stud 73 carried bya housing 74 which is fixed to the slide 21. 'Thehub 72 carrie a cam75 which isshown in'Fig. 4 as substantially square in section andwhich bears against an arcuate cam surface 76 of an'arm'77 which is pivoted at 78 to the housing 74. The cam surface 76 contains a projection 79 which is adapted to be engaged by a corner of the square cam surface 75 as the cam rotates, so as to momentarily raise the contact arm 77. The arm 77 carries an insulated contact'80 which engages a fixed contactSlcarriedby the housing'74'a'nd is adjusted by means of a screw thread 82 and lock'nut 83, the arrangement'be'ing such thatthe contacts"'80'ar1d 81 are normally closed but are momentarily broken when a corner of the square'shaped cam75engages the projection 79 on the arm 77 The arm 77 is held in engagement 'withthe cam surface 75 by means of a Spring 84. "'Afiat spring 85is mounted in the housing 74 in a position to engageone of the flat surfaces of the cam'75. so as'to hold the cam in fixed position during theprinting stroke.

A 'guide86 having a curved surface 87 is adapted to engage the neck of the bottlei13'for positioning the bottle accurately under the printing head. The guide" 86 is adjustably mounted on the housing 74 by mean of screws 88 extending through elongated slots 89 in the guide.

A plate 90 is adjustably mounted on a pair of studs 91 by means ofan elongated slot 92 in the plate 90. The studs 91 are fixed to'the bracket 17. The plate 90 carries a pin 93 on which an arm 94' is pivotally mounted. A guide plate 95 is-attached to'the arm 94 by means of screws'96. The arm 94 also carries'a pin 97 which is engaged by one end of a spring98, the other end of which is adjustably secured to'a pin 99 which is threaded for adjustment into a lug 100'on the plate 90.

The purpose of the spring 98 and the guide plate 95 is to engage the side of the bottle 13 and to force the bottle into correct stamping position with the neck of the bottle engaging the guide plate 86. "Astop member 101 on the bar 94 engages the plate 90 for limiting the inward 'movementof the bar when no bottle is in stampingposition.

The contacts'80 and 81 are connected by leads to control the energizationof the solenoid'48-so that'the solenoid is energized when the contacts are closed and deenergized when the contacts are open. Sincethecontacts are normally closed as .shown in 'Fig. '4 thesolenoid is normallyenergized, thereby closing the air valve 41 and venting the top of the air cylinder 41 through vent 43 and allowing'the piston 37 to be raised by the spring 39. The printing head 55'isthus retracted a shown in Figs. 1 and '2. In this position of the printing head the inking roller 60 rests against the ink pad 32 and receives ink therefrom.

When a bottle 13 is advanced by the conveyor'lO it engages one of thearms 71 ofthe star wheel 70 and.

causes the star'wheel to turn. 'When the bottle reaches stamping position beneath the printing head as shown in Fig. 4 the stariwheel'has'been rotated to a position such that a corner of the squarecam'75 engages the projection 79 on the contactarm 77 and'rnomentarily shifts the arm 77 so as to open the contacts "80 and (81. This breaks the energizing circuit of'the solenoid 48 and allows the valve 41 to be actuated by the spring 47, thereby supplying air under pressure from thepipe '42 to the top of the aincylirider 35 and forcing the piston 37 and the printing head 55 downwardly'untilthe type 56engages the top of the bottle cap 14 as shownin full lines in Fig. 3.

When the piston rod-38 moves downwardly the cam lug 64 engages the-cam roller 63 on the arms 61 and swings thearms" 61 in adirection to cause the ink roller 60 to wipe across the face of the type .56 and then-to continue tona position beyond .the "path of the type 56.

tion between'the bar'50 and the'plunger '51 to permit the ink roller 60 to be moved out of the path of the type face before the type face begins to descend in its stamping stroke. Due to the spinning of the ink roller which is caused by the rapid rate at which the roller passes the type face the roller when retracted engages the ink pad 32 in a ditferent position so that the various parts of the roller 60 are inked during the continued operation of the device.

When the contacts and 81 are again closed as a result of continued movement of thestar wheel 70 the solenoid 48 is again energized toshift-the valve 417and cut off the supply of air to the top of the cylinder 35, whereupon the piston is retracted to its original position by the spring 39.

In operation, the printing stroke and the return movement of the printing head are sorapid that the top of the bottle .cap isstamped while the .bottle isin motion on the conveyor and without appreciably interrupting the forward movement of the bottle.

In the form of the invention shown in Figs. 5 to 8 the cylinder 35 and actuating mechanism are similar to that above described and have been given the same reference. numbers. The piston -rod 38 in this form is threadedat its lower end intoa hexagonal block 105 having a pair of cars 106 carrying a pin 107 which engages an elongatedslot .108 in the top of the plunger 51a which is similar, to the plunger 51 above described. The'hexagonal. member .105 engages a bar 110 to which a link 111 is pivoted at 112. The link 111 is pivoted at 113 to the arms 61 carrying the ink roller 60 as above described.

The arrangement according to this embodiment is such that the downward movement of the bar 110, through the link 111, causes the swinging movement of the arms 61 which is necessary toshift the ink roller past the face of the typein itsinkingstroke. The elongated slot 108. provides the necessary lostmotion to permit the ink roller to clear the face of the type before the beginning of the printing stroke of the plunger 51a.

The invention has been shown as applied to mechanism for stamping a date on acap of a filled milk bottle. It is to be understood however. that it is equally applicable to stamping devices for embossing, engraving, or printing data on capped paper cups orcontainers, or onto the tops of closed containers of any type.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for stamping container tops or the like, comprisingiconveyor means toconvey a series ofcontainers past .a stamping station, a vertically movable stamping head at said stationhaving a bottom stamping face to engage the top surface-of the containers, a plunger carrying said head, an'inking roller, a-pivoted arm carrying said roller, an .1 actuating bar movable vertically and having a cam surface to swing said arm for wiping said roller over the-bottom surfaceof said stamping face and shifting the roller laterally out of the path thereof in an inkingstroke, said: barhaving a portion thereof disposed to engage and. actuate said plunger in a stamping stroke only after the inking roller has been shifted out of the, path of said head, a star wheel positioned to be engaged and turnedqbythe advancing containers as they pass said stampingvstation, and means controlled by said star wheel to actuate said bar.

:2. Apparatus for stamping. container, tops or the like, comprising conveyormeans to. conveyaseries of containers past a stamping station, a vertically movable stamping head at said station havingla bottom stamping face to engage .the top surface of the.containers, a plunger" carrying said head, an inkingi roller, a pivoted arm carrying said roller, an actuating bar movable vertically and having a cam s urface touswing said arm for-Wiping said roller over the bottom surfa'ce of 'saidstamping face 5 6 and shifting the roller laterally out of the path thereof References Cited in the file of this patent in an inking stroke, said bar having a portion thereof UNITED STATES PATENTS disposed to engage and actuate said plunger in a stamping stroke only after the inking roller has been shifted 1223610 Plttaluga 1917 out of the path of said head, a star wheel positioned to 5 1929703 McDonough 1933 be engaged and turned by the advancing containers as 2372089 Keller et a] Mar'20'1945 they pass said stamping station, means controlled by said 2646746 Muller July 1953 star Wheel to actuate said bar, and an inking pad disposed outside of the path of said head and engaged by said inking roller when said head is in elevated position. 10 

